


Remnants of a Dream

by StevetheIcecube



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dreams and Nightmares, Gen, Spoilers, referenced character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 14:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13683666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StevetheIcecube/pseuds/StevetheIcecube
Summary: Jin reflects on nightmares and goes on a walk.





	Remnants of a Dream

Blades don't dream. This much, Jin remembers. Hundreds of years make everything bar a few defining moments fade into obscurity, but he remembers the pure fear of the first time he had a dream (and then he remembers waking up alone, cold, and with dried blood still on his clothes).

His dreams were not always full of horrors, but with a life his long and all...all the blood on his hands, they often were. The amount of times he had woken seeing the afterimages of the faces of all those he had loved twisted in despair was impossible to count. On occasion he woke up with the taste of blood in his mouth, a mere memory of the terrible things he had one felt he must do, but that was rarer.

Sometimes, he woke with a smile on his face and a lightness in his heart that could power him through a few hours before the heaviness of age settled upon him once more and time passed in fractions of eternity. Those were the dreams he liked the most. The ones with smiles that were not bittersweet and laughter that was never cut short. They made him feel real, something close to human, something bright and not quite innocent, but certainly still alive on the inside. Those were the dreams of those he cared for that could not be snatched away in an instant.

Whenever Jin woke in the middle of the night or perhaps the very early hours of the morning due to a terrible dream, he usually took a walk around the battleship. The gentle hum of the engines while they were travelling was comforting, and if they were stationary then the silence made a nice contrast with the tumult of his mind. Sometimes when they were docked, he'd take a walk outside instead, if it was safe.

This time, they were in Uraya, docked under the water just outside Fonsa Myma. It was a short swim, but Fonsa Myma was pleasant enough to take a walk through and dark and shady enough that walking around with his face partially covered didn't attract too much unwanted attention. Jin hated to admit it, even to himself, but the city was beautiful, too. It was part of what he loathed about Alrest - the inequality, the blatantly all-important and all-consuming preparation for war, but if he could try and ignore all that, the walk was much better than sitting alone in the warship with only dark thoughts to accompany him.

The streets were almost entirely empty, and Jin let his mind wander as he walked down dark alleyway after dimly lit set of stairs. It was so peaceful it was easy to lose himself in listening to the sound of his footfall and watching the light of the trees. But then he rounded a corner and bashed into someone. "Watch it!" He hissed at the same time as the person he'd bumped into swore with a very familiar voice. In that moment, they both stopped in their tracks.

"Jin?" It was Malos. Because no one other than Malos would cuss out someone who took a corner too quickly (well, Jin imagined there were plenty of soldiers who would, but that wasn't the point). "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm going for a walk," he said simply. They'd both stopped in the middle of the street and neither of them showed any inclination of moving on. Jin didn't really want to have to explain himself to Malos when he just wanted to take his time in the city.

"Now?" He asked. "Why? It's the middle of the night."

"It's quiet," he explained. "I didn't feel like being stuck under the water in the ship."

"But why now?" He pressed. "Everyone else is sleeping."

"Not everyone," Jin noted, and he started walking again. After the sound of a sharp sigh, he heard Malos follow him. They walked in silence for a few minutes before they reached the city gates. Jin contemplated stopping and going back, but that would cut his time out of the ship short. "Do aegises dream?" He asked, continuing out of the gate.

"No," Malos answered. "Blades don't dream and aegises are no different. Is it not like that for you?"

Jin nodded. They continued to walk on in silence, starting down the slope away from Fonsa Myma. "They're often not particularly good images," he said. "Doing things helps me move past the feeling."

Malos nodded, not saying anything in response. Jin didn't know if Malos could relate at all to the idea of people suffering because of thoughts. A lot of the time he didn't really understand Malos.

They walked further still, remaining in companionable silence until the sun was starting to filter in through the top of the titan. "We should head back," Jin said, and Malos nodded again. They turned around and started to walk back in the direction of the city. In daylight they'd have to skirt around the edge a little better, but the walk had been worth it. Jin almost felt he enjoyed spending time with Malos, even when they didn't say a word to each other. Maybe especially then.

When they got back to the Monoceros, they went their separate ways. Jin watched Malos head down the corridor. He seemed more relaxed than he had been at the beginning of the walk. It had probably been a good idea to not mention that Mythra used to complain about bad dreams all the time.

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be gay but it ended up as supportive angst lords going on a moonlit stroll, rip
> 
> If you've enjoyed, leave a comment if you'd like :) comments make writing even more of a joy.


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